AAR Year 4 (2013)

Frances Garrett, Considering “The Literary” in Tibet Through the Study of RecipesIn this presentation I will consider texts that would not typically be considered ‘literary’ as a way of illuminating a few issues that may be useful to discuss in our AAR seminar meeting. The textual examples I provide are attributed to Rdo rje gling pa (1347-1405), and they are part of a canon of writing on a practice known as ‘edible letters’ (za yig), involving the consumption of small rolls of paper inscribed with Tibetan graphemes to serve a wide range of practical needs, from increasing one’s merit or wisdom or winning arguments, to protecting against thieves, contagious disease, spirit possession or dog bite.

Jann Ronis, Prose Narratives and Court Histories: The Royal Genealogy of Dergé (Sde dge rgyal rabs).The Royal Genealogy of Degé (sde dge’i rgyal rabs) is a history of the renowned kingdom of Degé. Bursting onto the scene in the 1630s, the Degé (sde dge) quickly became one of the preeminent polities and cultural centers of Kham (khams), Eastern Tibet.